Takeaway from Game One: Intensity Returns

Ask someone about the Colorado Avalanche season opener and they'll talk about Roy nearly pushing down the stanchion between him and Anaheim Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau.

While awesome, the takeaway I have from last night's game is simple: intensity has returned to the Avs.

Last night, the Avs skated hard all game, played solid positional hockey, played smarter and attacked the game. Under Joe Sacco, the Avs would allow the game and teams to come at them while they got their feet going. This year, they will not be pushed around.

They are not the cowering wretches other teams expect them to be. They are unruly and therefore cannot be ruled.

It won't always be a pretty 6-1 win but the Avs are going to fight more. They are giving teams less space, less time and fewer opportunities. They won't be turning pucks over, we hope, and making smart choices while transitioning from defend to attack.

There is a fine line when it comes to playing with emotion. You can control it and use it to make you better or you can unleash it and let it make you crazy like Spock in "Amok Time."

It was a good start for the Avs and gratifying to see the coach and team show some emotion. Now their task is to do it consistently.

Comments

On Saturday, David Ramsey wrote an article in the Colorado Springs gazette, calling the Avalanche fans &#8220;lackluster.&#8221; In this article he talks to two fans from out of state teams who paint the Avs fans as a fan base who wasn&#8217;t present during the Joe Sacco years. To be f...

Latest on FanVsFan

Two weeks after firing Mike Pacora, who had very little success running Fordham basketball, The university named Jeff Neubauer its head coach.Neubauer compiled a record of 188-134 record at his career at Eastern Kentucky, who showed recruiting sucess in the Sunbelt which led the team to a March Madness appearance in 2014.For the best information...